Camera and optical apparatus

ABSTRACT

A camera includes: a ring-like body mount having an inside diameter smaller than about 48 millimeters; and a solid-state image pickup device arranged oppositely to the body mount, the solid-state image pickup device having a rectangle light receiving section with a diagonal line length of about 43 millimeters or more. An apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device viewed from a front surface side of the body mount is a rectangle in which one or more corners are oblique.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a camera with interchangeable lensesand to an optical apparatus including the same.

Until now, as a comparatively small-sized camera in which the insidediameter of the body mount is smaller than 48 mm, a camera mounted witha solid-state image pickup device having a size equal to or smaller thanAPS-C size (screen size: about 23.4 mm×about 16.7 mm) has been themainstream.

SUMMARY

In recent years, in the foregoing small-sized camera, more impressiveand advanced expressiveness, in which a subject is sharpened with ablurry background has been pursued as in a camera using 35 mm film(screen size: about 36 mm× about 24 mm).

It is desirable to provide a small-sized camera capable of providinghigh image quality and an optical apparatus including the same.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda camera including: a ring-like body mount having an inside diametersmaller than about 48 millimeters; and a solid-state image pickup devicearranged oppositely to the body mount, the solid-state image pickupdevice having a rectangle light receiving section with a diagonal linelength of about 43 millimeters or more, wherein an apparent shape of thesolid-state image pickup device viewed from a front surface side of thebody mount is a rectangle in which one or more corners are oblique.

The wording “oblique” includes not only a case in which a diagonalstraight line crosses a corner of the rectangle, but also a case inwhich an arc crosses a corner of the rectangle.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is providedan optical apparatus provided with a camera and a lens joinedinterchangeably to the camera, the camera including: a ring-like bodymount having an inside diameter smaller than about 48 millimeters; and asolid-state image pickup device arranged oppositely to the body mount,the solid-state image pickup device having a rectangle light receivingsection with a diagonal line length of about 43 millimeters or more,wherein an apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device viewedfrom a front surface side of the body mount is a rectangle in which oneor more corners are oblique.

In the camera according to the embodiment of the present disclosure andthe optical apparatus according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the solid-state image pickup device having the rectanglelight receiving section with a diagonal line length of about 43millimeters or more is mounted on the body mount having an insidediameter smaller than about 48 millimeters. Therefore, an advantage dueto increasing the size of the solid-state image pickup device isobtainable. Specifically, the depth of field becomes smaller, andtherefore, a subject is shot sharply while background becomes easilyblurry.

According to the camera and the optical apparatus according to theembodiments of the present disclosure, the large-sized solid-state imagepickup device having the rectangle light receiving section with adiagonal line length of about 43 millimeters or more is mounted on thebody mount having an inside diameter smaller than about 48 millimeters,and the apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device viewedfrom the front surface side of the body mount is a rectangle in whichone or more corners are oblique. Therefore, even if the size is small,high image quality is obtainable.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended toprovide further explanation of the technology as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments and,together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of thetechnology.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an opticalapparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure,which is viewed from diagonally forward left.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the opticalapparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 viewed from diagonally backward right.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state that a monitorillustrated in FIG. 2 is opened.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a cameraaccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure after a lensand an adapter illustrated in FIG. 1 are detached, which is viewed fromdiagonally forward left.

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of a body mount illustrated in FIG. 4 viewedfrom the forward side.

FIG. 6 is an elevation view illustrating a state that an APS-C-sizedsolid-state image pickup device is mounted on the body mount illustratedin FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line VII-VII ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a frame, a contactpin holder, and a mask that are illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating a position relation between the bodymount, the contact pin holder, the mask, and the solid-state imagepickup device that are illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view illustrating one corner of thesolid-state image pickup device illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating a position relation between avisible outline of the solid-state image pickup device illustrated inFIG. 9, an opening of a holding member, and a light receiving section.

FIG. 12 is an elevation view of a mount of a camera according to asecond embodiment of the present disclosure, which is viewed from theforward side.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line XIII-XIIIof FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a case in whichan internal wall surface of a contact pin holder is an upstandingsurface.

FIG. 15 is an elevation view illustrating a modification of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described belowin detail with reference to the drawings. The description will be givenin the following order.

1. First Embodiment (a case in which a solid-state image pickup devicehaving a diagonal line length of a light receiving section equal to ormore than 43 mm is mounted on a body mount having an inside diametersmaller than 48 mm, and an apparent shape of the solid-state imagepickup device viewed from the front surface side of the body mount is arectangle having oblique four corners)2. Second Embodiment (a case in which an internal wall surface of acontact pin holder is tilted)

1. First Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates an appearance of an optical apparatus (a videocamcorder with interchangeable lenses) according to a first embodimentof the present disclosure, which is viewed from diagonally forward left.An optical apparatus 1 may have, for example, a configuration in which alens 3 is interchangeably joined to the forward front surface of acamera 2. The camera 2 and the lens 3 may be joined through an adapter 4as necessary.

In this specification, a light axis direction (front-back direction ofthe camera) is indicated by Z direction, a lateral direction (right-leftdirection) of the camera is indicated by X direction, and a verticaldirection (up-down direction) of the camera is indicated by Y direction.The forward side refers to the subject side in a direction of a lightaxis A of the lens 3, and the backward side refers to the camera 2 side.Right and left are expressed as directions viewed from the forward side(lens 3 side).

The camera 2 has a main body 10 joined to the lens 3. A grip belt 11 isattached to the left side surface of the main body 10. On the upper leftside surface of the main body 10, a start-stop button 12 located on thesuperior part of a grip is provided.

FIG. 2 illustrates an appearance of the optical apparatus 1 viewed fromdiagonally backward right. A microphone 13 is provided on the forwardtop surface of the main body 10, and a finder 14 and an eye sensor 15are provided on the backward top surface of the main body 10. Themicrophone 13, the finder 14, and the eye sensor 15 are attached to themain body 10 in a state of being floated over the top surface of themain body 10 with a neck section 16 in between. A monitor 17 is providedon the backward right side surface of the main body 10. The monitor 17may be configured of, for example, a liquid crystal panel and a touchpanel, and is openable and closable as illustrated in FIG. 3. On thebackward end of the main body 10, a battery attaching section 18 isprovided, and further, an electric power switch, a start-stop button, amode button, and the like (not illustrated) are arranged.

FIG. 4 illustrates an appearance of the camera 2 after the lens 3 andthe adapter 4 are detached, which is viewed from diagonally forwardleft. A body mount 30 as a mechanism of junction between the camera 2and the lens 3 is provided on the forward front surface of the main body10.

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration of the body mount 30 viewed from theforward side. Behind the body mount 30, a solid-state image pickupdevice 40 is arranged oppositely to the body mount 30.

The body mount 30 may be a ring-like member made of, for example, ametal. An inside diameter (the inside diameter of the body mount) R issmaller than 48 mm, and is specifically 47 mm.

In the inner circumference of the body mount 30, arc-like latches 31 isprojected. The number of the latches 31 is plural, and the latches 31are arranged in a plurality of locations (such as three locations as inFIG. 5) in a circumferential direction of the body mount 30. The latches31 are used for attaching the lens 3 to the body mount 30 in a manner ofbayonet. Specifically, an unillustrated lens mount is provided on therear end of the lens 3. The lens mount is a ring-like member made of ametal as the body mount 30 is. The inside diameter thereof (the insidediameter of the lens mount) is smaller than that of the body mount 30,and may be, for example, about 40 mm. In the inner circumference of thelens mount, arc-like latches are projected in a plurality of locationsin a circumferential direction of the lens mount as in the body mount30. Inserting the latches of the lens mount between the latches 31 ofthe body mount 30 and directly rotating the lens 3 allow the lens 3 tobe attached to the camera 2. It is to be noted that the body mount 30and the latches 31 may be integrally formed, or may be configured ofseparate members.

The solid-state image pickup device 40 is used to pick up a subjectimage formed by an optical system (not illustrated) of the lens 3, andis a full-frame image pickup device configured of a CCD (Charge CoupledDevice), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor,or the like. The solid-state image pickup device 40 may have, forexample, a peripheral region 42 including a peripheral circuit (notillustrated) and the like around a rectangle light receiving section 41.

The light receiving section 41 may be preferably a rectangle sectionhaving a long side of 36 mm and a short side of 24 mm (diagonal linelength L: about 43.267 mm), that is, a so-called 35 mm full-sizedsection. One reason for this is that, in this case, the area of thelight receiving section 41 is wide, the amount of light received per onepixel becomes large, and accordingly, a light photograph is allowed tobe shot. Another reason for this is that, in this case, even in a darkplace, photographing is allowed at a high shutter speed, and camerashake is allowed to be suppressed. Still another reason for this isthat, in this case, as the size of the light receiving section 41 iswider, the depth of field becomes smaller, and therefore, a subject isallowed to be sharpened with an appropriately-blurry background, andmore impressive and advanced expressiveness is obtainable.

In the first embodiment, as described above, while the inside diameter Rof the body mount 30 is smaller than 48 mm, the solid-state image pickupdevice 40 has the rectangle light receiving section 41 having thediagonal line length L of 43 mm or more. An apparent shape 40A of thesolid-state image pickup device 40 viewed from the front surface side ofthe body mount 30 is a rectangle in which at least one corner 42A isoblique. Therefore, in the camera 2, even if the size is small, highimage quality is obtainable.

Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the apparent shape 40A of thesolid-state image pickup device 40 viewed from the front surface side ofthe body mount 30 is a rectangle in which four corners 42A, 42B, 42C,and 42D are oblique.

It is to be noted that, in the case where an APS-C-sized solid-stateimage pickup device 140 is loaded onto the body mount 30, as illustratedin FIG. 6, an apparent shape 140A of the solid-state image pickup device140 viewed from the front surface side of the body mount 30 is arectangle. In other words, the apparent shape 140A of the solid-stateimage pickup device 140 is a rectangle similar to the original outershape of the solid-state image pickup device 140.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional configuration takenalong a line VII-VII of FIG. 5. The body mount 30 is held by a holdingmember 50. The holding member 50 has an opening 50A opposed to thesolid-state image pickup device 40. The apparent shape 40A (see FIG. 5)of the solid-state image pickup device 40 viewed from the front surfaceside of the body mount 30 is defined by the opening 50A. A shutter 60 isprovided between the holding member 50 and the solid-state image pickupdevice 40.

More specifically, as illustrated in an exploded view of FIG. 8, theholding member 50 has a frame 51, a contact pin holder 52, and a mask53.

The frame 51 is a hollow cylinder-like member made of a resin or ametal. The body mount 30 is attached to a forward end surface 51A.

The contact pin holder 52 is a resin part to hold contact pins 70 toelectrically connect the main body 10 to the lens 3. As illustrated inFIG. 8, the contact pin holder 52 has a ring-like shape having adiameter smaller than that of the frame 51, and is fitted into theinternal wall surface of the frame 51 from the forward side.

It is to be noted that since the contact pin holder 52 is provided tohold contact pins 70, it is sufficient to provide the contact pin holder52 in part or all in the circumferential direction of the body mount 30(in only a region around the contact pins 70). In the first embodiment,in order to adjust an appearance, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the contactpin holder 52 is provided along the entire inner circumference of thebody mount 30.

The mask 53 is provided between the contact pin holder 52 and thesolid-state image pickup device 40, and mainly has the following twofunctions. One thereof is to block unnecessary light (such as lightreflected by the side surface of the contact pin holder 52) that shouldnot enter the light receiving section 41 before such light enters thelight receiving section 41. The other thereof is to let through lightthat should enter the light receiving section 41 without prohibitingsuch light from entering the light receiving section 41 as much aspossible. The light that should enter the light receiving section 41 hasbeen prescribed so that a failure does not occur based on the assumptionof the forepast lenses. Since light paths vary according to the lens 3to be attached, the shape and the like of the mask 53 may be preferablychanged as appropriate according to the design of the lens 3.

The solid-state image pickup device 40 illustrated in FIG. 7 may have,for example, a semiconductor substrate 43 having the light receivingsection 41 and the peripheral region 42 and a forward surface member 44provided ahead of the semiconductor substrate 43. The forward surfacemember 44 may be configured of, for example, a low-pass filtersuppressing moire and false color. The forward surface member 44 isfixed on the peripheral region 42 of the semiconductor substrate 43 by,for example, an adhesive layer 45. It is to be noted that the forwardsurface member 44 may be configured of a blank glass substrateprotecting the light receiving section 41. In this case, the low-passfilter and the blank glass substrate may be used together, or thelow-pass filter may be omitted.

FIG. 9 illustrates a planar position relation between the body mount 30,the contact pin holder 52, the mask 53, and the solid-state image pickupdevice 40 that are illustrated in FIG. 7. In FIG. 9, for convenience,the contact pin holder 52 is indicated by falling diagonal strokes fromtop left to bottom right, and the mask 53 is indicated by fallingdiagonal strokes from top right to bottom left.

The body mount 30 has, as described above, a ring-like shape having theinside diameter R smaller than 48 mm. The arc-like latches 31 may beprojected, for example, in three locations in the inner circumference ofthe body mount 30.

The contact pin holder 52 is provided in the entire circumferentialdirection of the body mount 30. The inner rim thereof is protruded tothe inner circumference of the body mount 30. With regard to the planarshape of the contact pin holder 52, for example, the lower sectionthereof may be in the shape of a sector form that surrounds alignment ofthe contact pins 70, the upper section thereof may be a straight linealong the apparent shape 40A of the solid-state image pickup device 40,and the left section and the right section may be in the shape of anarch along the inner circumference of the body mount 30.

The mask 53 is provided in the entire circumferential direction of thebody mount 30. The inner rim thereof is protruded to the innercircumference of the body mount 30 and the inner circumference of thecontact pin holder 52. The planar shape of the mask 53 is a rectangle,and four corners of the rectangle are oblique in the shape of an arccorresponding to the shapes of the left section and the right section ofthe contact pin holder 52. The opening 50A, that is, the apparent shape40A of the solid-state image pickup device 40 is defined by the planarshape of the mask 53.

As illustrated in an enlarged view of FIG. 10, the upper left corner 42Aof the solid-state image pickup device 40 is oblique by the latch 31,the contact pin holder 52, and the mask 53. As illustrated in FIG. 9,the upper right corner 42D is oblique by another latch 31, the contactpin holder 52, and the mask 53. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the lower leftcorner 42B and the lower right corner 42C are oblique by the contact pinholder 52 and the mask 53.

FIG. 11 illustrates a planar position relation between a visible outline40B of the solid-state image pickup device 40 illustrated in FIG. 9, theopening 50A of the holding member 50, and the light receiving section41. The visible outline 40B of the solid-state image pickup device 40,that is, the visible outline of the semiconductor substrate 43 and theforward surface member 44 is located outside of the opening 50A.Therefore, as described above, the apparent outer shape 40A of thesolid-state image pickup device 40 becomes a rectangle in which the fourcorners 42A, 42B, 42C, and 42D are oblique.

Further, the opening 50A may be preferably located outside of the lightreceiving section 41. One reason for this is that, in the case where thecontact pin holder 52 and the mask 53 are overlapped with the lightreceiving section 41, the light that should enter the light receivingsection 41 might be blocked.

In the camera 2, a subject image formed by the optical system (notillustrated) of the lens 3 is picked up by the light receiving section41 of the solid-state image pickup device 40. Picked-up data isdisplayed on the monitor 17, and is recorded in a memory (notillustrated). In this case, since the solid-state image pickup device 40having the diagonal line length L of the light receiving section 41equal to or more than 43 mm is mounted on the body mount 30 having theinside diameter R smaller than 48 mm, an advantage due to increasing thesize of the solid-state image pickup device 40 is allowed to beobtained. Specifically, the depth of field becomes smaller, andtherefore, a subject is shot sharply while background becomes easilyblurry.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the large-sized solid-stateimage pickup device 40 having the diagonal line length L of the lightreceiving section 41 equal to or more than 43 mm is mounted on the bodymount 30 having the inside diameter R smaller than 48 mm, and theapparent shape 40A of the solid-state image pickup device 40 viewed fromthe front surface side of the body mount 30 is a rectangle in which oneor more corners are oblique. Therefore, while the size of the camera issmall, high image quality is obtainable.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 12 illustrates a configuration of the body mount 30 in a camera 2Aaccording to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, which isviewed from the forward side. FIG. 13 schematically illustrates across-sectional configuration taken along a line XIII-XIII of FIG. 12.In the camera 2A, unnecessary light is prevented from entering the lightreceiving section 41 by tilting an internal wall surface 52A of thecontact pin holder 52. Except for this point, the camera 2A has aconfiguration, a function, and an effect similar to those of theforegoing first embodiment. Therefore, for corresponding elementsthereof, descriptions will be given by affixing the same referentialsymbols thereto.

In the oblique four corners 42A, 42B, 42C, and 42D of the apparent shape40A of the solid-state image pickup device 40, the internal wall surface52A of the contact pin holder 52 is tilted so that the inside diameterbecomes wider as the location of the internal wall surface 52A becomescloser to the solid-state image pickup device 40. Although FIG. 13illustrates a cross section in the corner 42A, the other corners 42B to42D are similarly configured.

The mask 53 may preferably let through normal light ν1 (light thatshould enter the light receiving section 41), and may preferably blockreflected light ν3 obtained by reflecting outside-normal light ν2 (lighthaving the maximum angle of a forepast lens) in the vicinity of an edge52B of the internal wall surface 52A. To that end, as illustrated inFIG. 13, the mask 53 may be preferably extended toward position 52Cdirectly under the edge 52B of the internal wall surface 52A of thecontact pin holder 52.

Inclination angle θ of the internal wall surface 52A may be preferablyadjusted in consideration of incident angle of the outside-normal lightν2 and lowering of intensity due to reduced thickness of the contact pinholder 52.

In the four corners 42A to 42D of the apparent shape 40A of thesolid-state image pickup device 40, the inclination angle θ of theinternal wall surface 52A may be, for example, preferably identical.

In the camera 2A, a subject image is picked up as in the foregoing firstembodiment. In this case, in the oblique four corners 42A, 42B, 42C, and42D of the apparent shape 40A of the solid-state image pickup device 40,the internal wall surface 52A of the contact pin holder 52 is tilted sothat the inside diameter becomes wider as the location of the internalwall surface 52A becomes closer to the solid-state image pickup device40. Therefore, while the normal light ν1 enters the light receivingsection 41, the outside-normal light ν2 is reflected by the edge 52B ofthe internal wall surface 52A of the contact pin holder 52, and thereflected light ν3 thereof is blocked by the mask 53 before entering thelight receiving section 41.

On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 14, in the case where theinternal wall surface 52A of the contact pin holder 52 is an upstandingsurface, and the mask 53 is omitted, there is a possibility that theoutside-normal light ν2 is reflected by the edge 52B of the internalwall surface 52A of the contact pin holder 52, and reflected light ν4thereof enters the light receiving section 41.

As described above, in the second embodiment, in the oblique fourcorners 42A, 42B, 42C, and 42D of the apparent shape 40A of thesolid-state image pickup device 40, the internal wall surface 52A of thecontact pin holder 52 is tilted so that the inside diameter becomeswider as the location of the internal wall surface 52A becomes closer tothe solid-state image pickup device 40. Therefore, unnecessary light isallowed to be prevented from entering the light receiving section 41,and further, high image quality is obtainable.

It is to be noted that the internal wall surface 52A of the contact pinholder 52 may be tilted in sections other than the foregoing fourcorners 42A to 42D, in addition to the oblique four corners 42A, 42B,42C, and 42D of the apparent shape 40A of the solid-state image pickupdevice 40.

In the first embodiment, in order to keep influence on image quality tothe minimum, and to mount the solid-state image pickup device 40 sizedas large as possible on the body mount 30 having an inside diametersized as small as possible, one or more corners of the apparent shape40A of the solid-state image pickup device 40 are oblique. In the secondembodiment, in order to reduce influence on image quality occurring inthe first embodiment, the internal wall surface 52A is tilted so thatthe inside diameter becomes wider as the location of the internal wallsurface 52A becomes closer to the solid-state image pickup device 40.

The present disclosure has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited tothe foregoing embodiments, and various modifications may be made.

For example, in the foregoing embodiments, the description has beengiven of the case in which the apparent shape 40A of the solid-stateimage pickup device 40 viewed from the front surface side of the bodymount 30 is a rectangle in which the four corners 42A, 42B, 42C, and 42Dare oblique as illustrated in FIG. 5. However, the apparent shape 40A ofthe solid-state image pickup device 40 viewed from the front surfaceside of the body mount 30 may be, for example, as illustrated in FIG.15, a rectangle in which the two corners 42A and 42D are oblique. It isto be noted that, in the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the contact pinholder 52 is provided only in the peripheral region of the contact pins70, and the planar shape of the mask 53, that is, the shape of theopening 50A is a rectangle, and therefore, only the two corners 42A and42D are oblique by the latches 31.

Further, only one of the four corners 42A to 42D may be oblique by thelatch 31 by changing arrangement of the latches 31 in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 15. Similarly, three of the four corners 42A to 42Dmay be oblique by the latches 31.

In addition thereto, for example, the shape, the dimensions, thematerial, the manufacturing method, and the like of each component arenot limited to those described in the foregoing embodiments, and othershapes, other dimensions, other materials, and other manufacturingmethods may be used.

Further, for example, in the foregoing embodiments, the description hasbeen given of the configurations of the optical apparatus 1 and thecamera 2 with the specific examples. However, all components are notnecessarily included, and other components may be further included.

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, as an example of the solid-stateimage pickup device 40, the description has been given of the 35 mmfull-frame solid-state image pickup device. However, the presentdisclosure is effective for a case in which the solid-state image pickupdevice 40 sized larger than the 35 mm full-frame solid-state imagepickup device may be mounted on the body mount 30 having the insidediameter smaller than 48 mm.

The present disclosure is applicable not only to the camcorder capableof shooting both moving images and still images that has been describedin the foregoing embodiments, but also widely to cameras withinterchangeable lenses and optical apparatuses including a cameracapable of shooting only still images.

It is to be noted that the present technology may be configured asfollows.

(1) A camera, including:

a ring-like body mount having an inside diameter smaller than about 48millimeters; and

a solid-state image pickup device arranged oppositely to the body mount,the solid-state image pickup device having a rectangle light receivingsection with a diagonal line length of about 43 millimeters or more,wherein

-   -   an apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device viewed        from a front surface side of the body mount is a rectangle in        which one or more corners are oblique.

(2) The camera according to (1), wherein the light receiving section isin the shape of a rectangle having a long side of about 36 millimetersand a short side of about 24 millimeters.

(3) The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein the apparent shape ofthe solid-state image pickup device is a rectangle in which four cornersare oblique.

(4) The camera according to any one of (1) to (3), further including anarc-like latch, the latch being projected in an inner circumference ofthe body mount, wherein

-   -   one or more corners of the solid-state image pickup device are        hidden by the latch when viewed from the front surface side of        the body mount.

(5) The camera according to any one of (1) to (4), further including aholding member, the holding member holding the body mount and thesolid-state image pickup device, the holding member having an openingopposed to the solid-state image pickup device, wherein

-   -   the apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device is        defined by the opening.

(6) The camera according to (5), wherein the opening is located outsideof the light receiving section.

(7) The camera according to (5) or (6), wherein the holding memberincludes

a hollow cylinder-like frame to which the body mount is attached, and

a contact pin holder being provided in part or all of an internal wallsurface of the frame.

(8) The camera according to (7), wherein an internal wall surface of thecontact pin holder is tilted to allow an inside diameter to become wideras a location of the internal wall surface of the contact pin holderbecomes closer to the solid-state image pickup device at least in theoblique corner of the apparent shape of the solid-state image pickupdevice.

(9) The camera according to (7) or (8), wherein the holding memberfurther includes a mask between the contact pin holder and thesolid-state image pickup device, the mask blocking unnecessary light.

(10) The camera according to any one of (1) to (9), wherein thesolid-state image pickup device is a full-frame pickup device.

(11) An optical apparatus provided with a camera and a lens joinedinterchangeably to the camera, the camera including:

a ring-like body mount having an inside diameter smaller than about 48millimeters; and

a solid-state image pickup device arranged oppositely to the body mount,the solid-state image pickup device having a rectangle light receivingsection with a diagonal line length of about 43 millimeters or more,wherein

an apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device viewed from afront surface side of the body mount is a rectangle in which one or morecorners are oblique.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and alternations mayoccur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as theyare within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A camera, comprising: a ring-like body mounthaving an inside diameter smaller than about 48 millimeters; and asolid-state image pickup device arranged oppositely to the body mount,the solid-state image pickup device having a rectangle light receivingsection with a diagonal line length of about 43 millimeters or more,wherein an apparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device viewedfrom a front surface side of the body mount is a rectangle in which oneor more corners are oblique.
 2. The camera according to claim 1, whereinthe light receiving section is in the shape of a rectangle having a longside of about 36 millimeters and a short side of about 24 millimeters.3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the apparent shape of thesolid-state image pickup device is a rectangle in which four corners areoblique.
 4. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising anarc-like latch, the latch being projected in an inner circumference ofthe body mount, wherein one or more corners of the solid-state imagepickup device are hidden by the latch when viewed from the front surfaceside of the body mount.
 5. The camera according to claim 1, furthercomprising a holding member, the holding member holding the body mountand the solid-state image pickup device, the holding member having anopening opposed to the solid-state image pickup device, wherein theapparent shape of the solid-state image pickup device is defined by theopening.
 6. The camera according to claim 5, wherein the opening islocated outside of the light receiving section.
 7. The camera accordingto claim 5, wherein the holding member includes a hollow cylinder-likeframe to which the body mount is attached, and a contact pin holderbeing provided in part or all of an internal wall surface of the frame.8. The camera according to claim 7, wherein an internal wall surface ofthe contact pin holder is tilted to allow an inside diameter to becomewider as a location of the internal wall surface of the contact pinholder becomes closer to the solid-state image pickup device at least inthe oblique corner of the apparent shape of the solid-state image pickupdevice.
 9. The camera according to claim 7, wherein the holding memberfurther includes a mask between the contact pin holder and thesolid-state image pickup device, the mask blocking unnecessary light.10. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state imagepickup device is a full-frame pickup device.
 11. An optical apparatusprovided with a camera and a lens joined interchangeably to the camera,the camera comprising: a ring-like body mount having an inside diametersmaller than about 48 millimeters; and a solid-state image pickup devicearranged oppositely to the body mount, the solid-state image pickupdevice having a rectangle light receiving section with a diagonal linelength of about 43 millimeters or more, wherein an apparent shape of thesolid-state image pickup device viewed from a front surface side of thebody mount is a rectangle in which one or more corners are oblique.